Playing-ball.



No. mm. Patented Oct. l4, I902.

' F. l-l.- manna.

PLAYING BALL.

, (Application filed. Jul 1Q 12, 1902.)

(In ow.)

7?}265565 Ewen #07 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE KEMPSHALLMANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

PLAYING-BALL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 71 1,177, dated October14, 1902.

Application filed June 12, 1902. Serial No.111,263. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, a citizen of the United States,residing'at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPlaying-Balls,-

of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to playing-balls, especially those used in thegame of golf; and its IO object is to produce at low cost a ball havingexceptional flying power under a hard blow, but inactive under a lightblow.

Iuthe drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a view ofa ball made in accordance with my present improvements and shown partlyin section, and Fig. 2 is a view of my improved filling.

The interior of the ball preferably oomprises a sphere 1, which in thisinstance forms the body or main portion of the entire ball,

although it may be made of smaller proportion, if desired. This spherepreferably consists of soft rubber under tension, preferably moldedsolid rubber, the tension being produced by the injection thereinto of acenter piece 2 of gutta-percha or other material, substantially in themanner set forth in the patent granted to me March 25, 1902, No.696,353. If desired, an untensioned molded o rubber sphere may be usedin place of the tensioned sphere 1. Upon said sphere I flex or bendcontinuously in miscellaneous directions one or more lengths of aspring-tempered wire 3, thereby forming a tense metal- 3 5 lic casing orlattice-work A, Fig. 2,which thus consists of a series of irregularlyarranged tense bands or hoops. The wire is preferably fiat or oblong incross-section and wound fiatwise upon the rubber sphere 1,and the number0 of the windings may be varied to suit the ball to different games orto give it different qualities. The spring-wire before winding may besubstantially straight and flexed or constrained at'each winding,thereby making a tension in the wire, so that each hoop or band tendsconstantly to recover its normal straight condition, and hence everyportion of the casingAis in a state of high initial tension,which is afeature of great importance. Moreover, so since the wire is wound uponthe rubber sphere 1 under great longitudinal tension it holds saidsphere under high compression. The structure hence comprises a sphere ofsoft rubber, which is bound tightly within windings of longitudinallyunyielding wire, said wire itself being highly tensioned by the bendingand shows enormous activity when given a heavy blow. Upon said fillingA, I form a shell 4 of gutta-peroha or other plastic mate- 'rial, andpreferably provide an intermediate lining 5 of fabric to prevent cuttingof the gutta-pcrcha by the wire and also to dead'en the ball somewhat,so that it may not be too active under a light blow, while at the sametime calling into action more of the Wire hoops or springs 3 than wouldotherwise be the case, and hence improving the flying quality of theball under a heavy blow. It will be understood also that the metalliccasing A is so rigid as not to be sprung by a light blow, such as givenin putting.

It will be perceived that since the wire casing A holds the rubbersphere1 in a powerful grip the tendency upon the part of both the rubbersphere and the casing is to preserve a spherical form, and thereforegreat resistance is ofiered to any distortive tendency, or, in otherwords, a blow in order to distort the wound sphere must overcome thepowerful tendency thereof to preserve its spherical form, and must dothis against the great opposition offered by the highly-tensionedsprings which compose the casing. The reaction of the deviceisinstantaneous and powerful, and hence an enormous amount of power maybe imparted to the ball, thus prolonging its flight. Wire having othercross-sections and of any suitable spring-tempered. metal may be used,and other variations may be resorted to within the scope of myimprovements.

Having described my invention, I claim-- 1. In a playing-ball, thecombination with a sphere of yielding material, of a series ofspring-tempered metallic hoops binding upon said sphere and forming alattice-work casing thereon. 1

2. In a playing-ball, the combination with asphere of soft rubber, ofspring-tempered wire wound in miscellaneous directions in a tensecondition and forming a casing thereon;

said sphere being held under compression by said casing.

3. In a playing-ball, the combination with a cover, of a series ofspring-tempered metal springs confined within said cover and in a tensecondition. 1

4. In a playing-ball, the combination with a sphere of yieldingmaterial, of a series of spring-tempered metal springs in a tensecondition thereon, and a cover iuclosing said springs.

5. In a playing-ball, the combination with a sphere of yieldingmaterial, of a series of spring-tempered metal springs in a tensecondition thereon, and ashell of plastic material inclosing saidsprings.

6. In a playing-ball, the combination with a sphere of yieldingmaterial, of a series of spring-tempered metal springs in a tensecondition thereon, and a shell of plastic material holding said springsunder compression.

7. In a playing-ball, the combination with a sphere of soft rubber, ofspring-tempered wire wound tightly in miscellaneous directions andforming a casing thereon; said I sphere being held under compression bysaid casing; a cover of plastic material upon said casing, and anintervening layer of flexible material.

8. In a playing-ball, the combination with a sphere of soft rubber, ofspring-tempered wire wound in miscellaneous directions thereon; a coverof plastic material upon said winda sphere of soft rubber of aspring-tempered flat wire spring wound flatwise and under tension inmiscellaneous directions and forming a casing thereon, and a yieldingcover upon said casing.

12. In a playing-ball, the combination with a cover, of a series ofspring-tempered flat circular metal springs confined within said coverand in a tense condition.

13. In a playing-ball, the combination with a sphere of yieldingmaterial, of a series of spring-tempered metal springs in a tensecondition thereon, and a fabric-lined shell of plastic material holdingsaid springs and sphere under compression.

14:. In a playing-ball, the combination with a sphere ofyieldingmaterial and a hard center piece therein, of a series ofspring-tempered metallic hoops binding 11 pon said sphere and forming alattice-work casing thereon.

15. In a playing-ball, the combination with a sphere of tensioned softrubber having a hard center piece, of spring-tempered wire" wound in atense condition in miscellaneous directions and forming a casingthereon; and a cover upon said windings.

16. In a playing-ball, the combination with a cover, of a series ofcircular spring-tempered metal springs confined within said cover and ina tense condition and forming 'a lat tice-work sphere.

17. In a playing-ball, the combination with a shell of yieldingmaterial, of a series of spring-tempered metal springs in a tensecondition and supporting said shell.

- 18. In a playing-ball, the combination with a tensioned sphere of softrubber having a hard center piece, of a spring-tempered fiat wire springwound tightly in miscellaneous directions and forming a casing thereon;and a cover of gutta-percha and fabric upon said casing.

FRANCIS H. RICHARDS.

Witnesses:

B. C. STICKNEY, JOHN O. SEIFERT.

